You are here

"Japan Marking 5th Anniversary Of Devastating Tsunami"

"MINAMISANRIKU, Japan — Japan on Friday marked the fifth anniversary of the 2011 tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and left a devastated coastline along the country's northeast that has still not been fully rebuilt.

In the town of Minamisanriku, a handful of tourists offered prayers in the morning at the skeletal remains of the former disaster prevention center, where 43 workers died as tsunami waves engulfed the three-story building.

Much of the Tohoku coast remains empty except for mounds of dirt brought in to raise the ground level to minimize risks from future tsunamis before any rebuilding is done."